The present disclosure relates to a network device that processes packets.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in the background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
A network device typically includes a control plane processor which implements processing operations to make determinations related to forwarding, routing, access control lists, and the like. Control plane processors located in a network upstream of a final destination typically update the packet header information of incoming packets. A packet flow exists when a number of received packets are identified as having the same or similar characteristics, for example the packets are received on the same port or are from the same source, are to be forwarded to the same destination, are the same type of packet and are to be handled with a same quality of service. Network devices encounter situations in which multiple, different flows need to be handled concurrently.